Here’s a story from ElPasoMatters.org:
Attorneys with the immigration advocacy group Estrella del Paso last month asked that District Court Judge Marlene Gonzalez recuse herself from a case involving an unaccompanied migrant minor, alleging that she demonstrates cruelty toward and bias against immigrant children.
Court transcripts show Gonzalez repeatedly questioned unaccompanied minors about whether they had “abandoned” their families to come to the United States and, in one case, called a Guatemalan child labor victim a liar while dismissing his injuries because he had no visible scars. In other hearings, she challenged children who described abuse, kidnapping and sexual exploitation — asking why they did not stay elsewhere in Mexico and scolding a teenage trafficking victim for engaging in prostitution.
Gonzalez on Jan. 5 agreed to recuse herself, but said in court documents that she did so to save time and resources – and “not for the reasons alleged” in the motion asking for her recusal.
. . .
The recusal is one of several requests over the last few years asking Gonzalez to step aside from cases, raising broader concerns about how allegations of bias and unprofessional conduct in her courtroom affect the families who appear before her.
Gonzalez, 71, a Democrat whose husband was a Border Patrol agent, practiced law for more than 30 years in El Paso before being elected as judge of the 388th Judicial District Court in 2020. The court presides over family law issues, including divorce and child custody.
The current salary for that judgeship is $158,000 a year. Judge Gonzalez is up for reelection in 2028, at which time she will be 73.
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